With every year that passes, Netflix has continued to evolve and grow as a contender against major studios. 2019 proved to be no different. From gangster epics to quirky Rom-Coms to stylish period pieces, Netflix has proven its eclectic taste as a powerhouse production studio. With big contenders competing for the most prestigious awards, 2019 Netflix movies have dominated. Among the record-breaking number of Netflix movies produced in 2019 (over 70), we managed to create a list of the 10 best 2019 Netflix movies.Â
Best Netflix Thrillers of 2019
10. Velvet Buzzsaw
Velvet Buzzsaw • Behind the Scenes Facts
Writer and director of the widely acclaimed Nightcrawler Dan Gilroy returns with this equally twisted thriller. Gilroy teams up with Jake Gyllenhaal yet again as he plays Morf Vandewalt, a renowned art critic. The film follows Morf as he and his colleagues profit from a dead artist’s collection. The success turns south when everyone associated with the art begins to die in horrifying ways.
Despite some less redeeming Final Destination characteristics of the film, Velvet Buzzsaw’s intriguing premise makes for a solid watch.
Netflix Original Movies 2019
Conclusion
While the premise of the film is intriguing enough to carry the first half of the film, the story starts to lose traction toward the middle. The novelty of the film’s premise wears off and the later half relies on finding grotesque ways for each character to die. Part thriller, part drama, part horror, Velvet Buzzsaw is a jack of all trades, but master of none.
Best Netflix Romantic Comedy of 2019
9. Always Be My Maybe
Always Be My Maybe • Bloopers
The romantic comedy is a genre that has hit a slump and Netflix is trying to fix that. With the hilarious leads of Ali Wong and Randall Park, Always Be My Maybe finds a balancing act of hilarious and quirky antics with painful relatability.
The Netflix movie follows two childhood friends who find themselves resparking a romance in a years later reunion. With a hilarious cameo from a douchebag caricature version of Keanu Reeves, Always Be My Maybe is a solid shot at Netflix’s revival of the romantic comedy.
Romantic Comedy Netflix Originals 2019
Conclusion
This fresh take on the modern Rom-Com thrives off of hilarious performances and awkwardly witty scenes. The characters, however, lack a necessary dimension that would have made the movie a home run.
Best Netflix Original Movies 2019
8. El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Behind the Scenes of • El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Vince Gilligan returns with this extension of one of the most highly regarded TV series of all time Breaking Bad. The film follows Jesse Pinkman in an epilogue to the Breaking Bad series. While the film itself contains all you expect and want from a Vince Gilligan movie, it does niche down to those who have seen the show (if you haven’t, now's the time). However, as a fan of Breaking Bad it would be a disservice to not acknowledge El Camino as one of 2019’s best Netflix movies.
New Netflix Original Movies 2019
Conclusion
While the film itself is a well done, entertaining ride, the movie itself raises questions to whether or not it was necessary. Breaking Bad fans will definitely get a kick out of going for another ride with familiar characters, but for everyone else the movie would be rather vague and confusing.
Netflix’s Best Sports Drama of 2019
7. High Flying Bird
High Flying Bird • Disrupting Sport and Film
Steven Soderbergh is back again utilizing his iPhone cinematography to tell this dialogue driven sports drama. The film follows Ray Burke, a hustling, work driven sports agent who is trying to reassure a new client during an NBA lockout. The film is packed with dense dialogue and is creatively intercut with interviews of actual NBA players addressing certain aspects of sports that the film brings up.
Sports Drama Netflix Originals 2019
Conclusion
High Flying Bird unloads themes and conflicts in the sports world like passion versus commerce that results in an engaging story. While it is impressive that the film is shot on an iPhone in classic Soderbergh fashion, one can only wonder if better cinematography could have enhanced the story.
Best Netflix Dramas of 2019
6. The Two Popes
Anthony Hopkins • Interview
Logistically speaking, a film about two elderly men talking over the course of two hours should be nothing short of mundane. However, when you bring in Oscar worthy performances by both Anthony Hopkins and Jonathon Pryce to deliver the conflict laden, and often humorous dialogue of screenwriter Anthony McCarden you get a film that will surpass all of your expectations.
The film follows the speculative conversations between sternly conservative Pope Benedict (Hopkins) and the transparently simple Pope Francis (Pryce) during one of the most shocking transitions in recent history of the Catholic Church.
Dramatic 2019 Netflix Movies
Conclusion
The film’s ability to naturally flow from moments of wit and humor to moments of tension and drama are what put the film in a category of few among all Netflix movies. The Two Popes brilliantly humanizes the regal concept of the papacy and creates a dialogue that addresses the evergreen conflicts of faith, virtue and morality and rightfully makes it one of the best 2019 Netflix movies.
Best Netflix Documentary of 2019
5. American Factory
Obama's Interview • With Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar
Documentary filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognart find themselves at a former General Motors factory that has been acquired by Fuyao Glass, a Chinese windshield manufacturer. The Netflix movie begins as a short lived optimistic revival of a community and soon turns to chronicle the conflict that occurs in the evolving 21st-century workplace. Cultures clash between blue collar American workers and efficiency driven Chinese employees with rumors of unionizing and automation filling the factory. American Factory’s relevance and open conversation stand out among the many Netflix movies of 2019.
Documentary Netflix Original Movies 2019
Conclusion
Reichert and Bognart form a compelling story that touches on various issues of culture, corporations, and automation in the workplace. The film itself is timely and relevant and looks into a micro situation that is currently occurring at a macro scale.
Best Biographical Netflix Original of 2019
4. Dolemite is My Name
Eddie Murphy and Cast • Interview
What can only be summed up as the most unique, underdog, feel-good film of the year, Dolemite is My Name proves that Eddie Murphy is still a force on the big screen. This behind-the-scenes comedy of hustler and entertainer Rudy Ray Moore (Murphy) and his antics that lead to the production of the 1975 blaxploitation film Dolemite will have you laughing out loud while inspiring you to chase your dreams all at the same time. As Rudy Ray Moore finds himself succeeding despite Hollywood and not because of it, it is only appropriate that Dolemite finds its way to our list of best Netflix movies of 2019.
Biographical 2019 Netflix Movies
Conclusion
Dolemite is My Name is an insightful, hilarious, and uplifting look into the blaxploitation era of film and comedy. Eddie Murphy’s performance itself demands a watch while the star studded supporting cast are the cherry on top of a great all around movie.
Best Crime-Drama Netflix Originals 2019
3. The Irishman
How Scorsese Opens an Epic • Subscribe on Youtube
This gangster epic that has been on Scorsese’s shelf for years was brought to life thanks to Netflix. Scorsese drew from fact and fiction in The Irishman to create this gangster epic. Despite the rather noticeable anti-aging effects, The Irishman would not be ranked among classic Scorsese films without heavyweight performances from Joe Pesci, Al Pacino, and Robert DeNiro. The Irishman script follows Frank Sheeran (DeNiro), a mobster hitman who finds himself working with legendary Teamster Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino) as Hoffa gets tied up with organized crime. Scorsese’s filmmaking style meets new themes of morality and mortality as it follows these mob leaders into their elderly years.
Scorsese Netflix Original Movies 2019
Conclusion
Unfolding over a classic Scorsese run time of three hours and forty minutes, The Irishman may have a bit of fat on it, but makes up for it with the masterful filmmaking of Scorsese and powerful performances from DeNiro, Pesci, and Pacino.
Among all Netflix movies produced in 2019, The Irishman might be the biggest threat to big Hollywood studios, proving that auteur filmmakers like Scorcese can do it without them thanks to Netflix.
Best Animated Netflix Originals 2019
2. I Lost My Body
Director Jérémy Clapin • Interview
Picked up at the Cannes film festival after receiving the top prize in Critics’ Week, Jérémy Clapin’s I Lost My Body is a heartwarmingly bizarre story of a severed hand’s journey back to find the body from which it belongs. The film is reminiscent and compelling as it unfolds against the vibrant backdrop of Paris. What seems as a rather outlandish protagonist, the dismembered hand soon gains our empathy as we understand its struggle and its longing for its journey.
I Lost My Body is proof that not all great Netflix movies have to be big budget productions trying to compete with major studios. The style of the film is modest yet backed up by beautiful artwork as well as a brilliant screenplay.
Animated 2019 Netflix Movies
Conclusion
The simple originality of I Lost My Body is storytelling at its best. Clapin inventively provokes our sense of touch in a way no other film has. It’s journey to find its body is witty, nostalgic, and bizarre in the best way possible resulting in what we think is one of the best Netflix movies of all time.
Best Netflix Dramas of 2019
1. Marriage Story
Noah Baumbach Breakdown • Marriage Story
Within the first fifteen minutes of the film, writer and director Noah Baumbach reminds us of the details of both love and heartbreak in this witty and devastating tale of divorce.
Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver deliver gut wrenchingly convincing performances that encapsulate the financial and emotional toll of a divorce carried out by lawyers. Baumbach utilizes his personal experiences to create the details of intimacy and conflict that makes this film so painfully relatable.
Best New Netflix Original Movies 2019
Conclusion
The brilliance of Marriage Story lies not in its interest in who is right or who is wrong, but rather what is true. The spectrum of emotions that unfold throughout the film are neither judged or criticized by Baumbach. What is left is a raw, often funny and equally devastating story of what comes after the end of a marriage. This honest storytelling is what makes Marriage Story not only one of the best 2019 Netflix movies, but one of the best Netflix movies of all time.
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Best Movies on Netflix
Still looking for something to watch? Now that you’ve got our best Netflix original movies 2019 list, check out our list of the best movies on Netflix that you can watch right now. We’ve compiled a playlist of films just for you. Find some of the best Netflix movies ever here.
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Showcase your vision with elegant shot lists and storyboards.
Create robust and customizable shot lists. Upload images to make storyboards and slideshows.
Showcase your vision with elegant shot lists and storyboards.
Create robust and customizable shot lists. Upload images to make storyboards and slideshows.
